Grass is his favourite surface. Taylor Fritz (USA) is living up to his reputation as a grass-court specialist at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN in Halle. With his 6-2, 6-4 victory over Fabian Marozsan (Hungary), the world number nine has reached the quarter-finals.
The two players had faced each other twice before this round of 16 match. On both occasions, Taylor Fritz won after losing the first set. This time, however, the 28-year-old American dominated proceedings on court from the outset. Although he failed to capitalise on two break points in the Hungarian’s first service game, he managed to secure the first break at 3–2. Fabian Marozsan, by contrast, struggled to find his rhythm. He made numerous unforced errors. Tellingly, with the score at 2–5, 30–30, the Hungarian committed two double faults, sealing a 6–2 victory for Taylor Fritz in less than half an hour.
The second set began much as the first had unfolded. Taylor Fritz quickly took a 3–0 lead. The match seemed all but decided. But Fabiaan Marozsan, who had been rather disappointing up to that point, suddenly stepped up a gear and broke back to make it 2–3. It was, however, only a brief resurgence for the Hungarian. The American recovered from the setback, serving up twelve aces in the second set alone. Furthermore, at 5–4, he managed to secure the truly decisive break. After 66 minutes of play, he converted his third break point – which was also his third match point – to win 6–2, 6–4.
“I feel very comfortable on grass; I’m in good form,” said the winner, who may face Ben Shelton again in the quarter-finals – the player he lost to last Sunday in the Stuttgart final. “I’d love to get my own back,” said Taylor Fritz.
